Experiments

Adventures in Virtual Entertainment

[jmartinez-experiments-blog]

Rise

This is my first generative art series! I was inspired by the beautiful gradient on the right, a sunrise captured by Eric Cahan at 6:27am in Gardiners Bay, NY. In Processing, I played around with pulling two color samples at a time and generating variable rectangle sizes. After working through the gradient colors, I ended up manually stitching the pieces together in Illustrator to create the abstracted version on the left. It was a lot of fun!

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Song Titles

Yesterday I implemented my first conditional design project!

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Song Titles

Materials needed: Access to your music stream (iPod, phone, Spotify...), paper, markers, cards (provided)

1. Everyone select a different marker to use.

2. Take turns: Shuffle your music. Select a card from the pile. Write the song title that appears in the style of the card you chose. Draw it on a scale according to how much you like the song (bigger=better).

3. Repeat until there is no space left on the page.

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Loop.ph, a spacial laboratory

When researching generative artists, I came across this amazing group called Loop.ph who call themselves a spacial laboratory. Based in London, this experimental studio works in several fields like design, architecture, and the sciences. In most of their work they use environmental data to create these impressive generative art installations.

This image is from an installation called Sonumbra de Vincy, created in 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland. Three illuminated wire structures built like vaults represent cities in Europe (Geneva, Madrid, and London) and are connected to a unique software that aggregates real-time weather conditions. The wires light up with patterns that reflect those conditions in the individual cities.

I love how Loop.ph builds such amazing visual experiences that leverage natural phenomenons with the latest digital technology. If you haven't checked them out yet, I definitely encourage you to.

[jmartinez-experiments-blog]

Manifesto

http://conditionaldesign.org/manifesto/

I was introduced to the conditional design manifesto a year or two ago, but we were asked to read it again and see if our response changed and if we could draw any new relevance to it. Here's what I thought:

Part 1

At this point in my development as a designer, the concepts in the Manifesto hold much more weight than they first did when Jason introduced us to them. I think there’s something really refreshing in the idea that conditional design is not applied to only one field or skill set. It seems like a great exercise in creative expression and in finding inspiration out of your comfort zone. What seems so enticing is that there are rules and logic that point to a specific solution, but you allow the process take over and create something unexpected. That element of unpredictability and natural progression is fascinating.

“We want to embrace the complexity of this landscape, deliver insight into it, and show both its beauty and its shortcomings.” This is my favorite line in the Manifesto. In a world I always try to find the perfect solution, I like the idea of embracing imperfections and seeing what can happen when you no longer have control.

Part 2

http://conditionaldesign.org/workshops/dynamic-manifestos/

I found the Dynamic Manifesto example to be one of the most intriguing projects. In it, four designers sat at a table with paper and a computer monitor display of four random instructions (the medium, what element to add, how to treat it, and what relations to draw). Between quick three-minute rounds and strict limitations, I didn’t expect there to be so much unpredictability in the game.

What they produced as a result was incredibly interesting. This project demonstrated how collaboration could achieve so much more that one mind working on its own. In the first video called “The Fall of Typography,” the designers channeled mentalities in the workplace. I enjoyed watching them agree with each other’s opinions, but found it more inspiring when they were able to bridge ideas and make connections to different trains of thought. This project serves as a reminder that sometimes the best way to think outside the box is through collaboration.

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Kick-Off

This blog is going to act as my documentation tool for our Virtual Entertainment class, and elective for RIT New Media Design seniors like myself. We're going to explore generative art, conditional design, and processing to create interactive experiences that leverage different devices. It's exciting to take a break from UX/UI and look at design in a whole new light. Maybe it will lead to a new passion or an outlet for creation. Can't wait to see what happens!